Let your tears fall (OUAH)
by J-Farraday
Summary: Papyrus finds Frisk sitting in the attic alone on edge of tears. His human wife has been thinking of all the years they lived apart from their daughter Noelle. Papyrus encourages Frisk to cry freely, telling her that he'll always be there for her when she's sad. (It's a midquel to "Once Upon A Handplate". Takes place sometime after chapter 18.)


**It's another one-shot that is related to my "Once Upon A Handplate" main fic. This one is however a midquel, so if you haven't read the main story, you'll get pretty confused reading this one. It takes place during arc 2, not too long after Noelle undid the De-Code and brought everyone back in the world of Undertale. **

**My Papyrisk stories are usually pretty lighthearted, but this one is angsty. So, you've been warned. But I hope you'll like it regardless. (But the next story about the two will be a happy one, I promise!)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. All the characters and "Undertale" belong to Toby Fox. I just own Noelle (who's only mentioned here).**

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It was a quiet winter afternoon, when Papyrus was sitting in the kitchen, browing through a culinary book. He stopped when he found a recipe that caught his interest. If everything was done right, they'd come up with a very tasty meal. Papyrus decided to show it to Frisk and ask her what she thought about it. But when he peeked outside of the kitchen with the recipe book in his hands, he saw that to his surprise the living room was empty. Merely a few minutes ago Frisk was sitting on the couch. Papyrus thought that maybe she went upstairs, so he decided to go check there. He put the book (open at the page with the recipe) on the kitchen table, before going to the second floor. Papyrus opened the door of the bedroom, to see if Frisk was there, but the room was empty. The skeleton checked in the bathroom and their daughter's room, but Frisk wasn't there either. Papyrus frowned. Frisk would've told him if she went outside. He then noticed that the door to the attic wasn't shut like usual, but was slightly ajar. Thus he guessed that the attic was certainly the place where his wife was. Papyrus opened the door wider and went up the stairs. Just like he had guessed, there was Frisk, sitting on the floor in the dim light emitted by a single lightbulb. The woman didn't immediately notice her husband, she seemed to be lost in thoughts. The look on her face was distant and melancholic, as if she was reliving a memory. Papyrus noticed that Frisk was sitting next to the box containing Noelle's old things, such as plushies and child clothing.  
"FRISK..?" - he asked gently, approaching her.  
Frisk blenched just a little, finally coming back to reality and realizing Papyrus' presence. She looked up at him and the skeleton saw that her eyes were glimmering with tears. After a moment of silence, Frisk showed him an item she's been holding the whole time.  
"Do you remember this?" - she asked.  
She was referring to a small red scarf, a scarf Noelle used to often wear during her childhood, before being sent away to the other world. Papyrus sat down next to Frisk and he replied quietly:  
"YES, OF COURSE I DO… IT'S NOELLE'S OLD SCARF."  
"She loved it a lot…" - Frisk said with a sad smile - "I bought it for Noelle after she stole your favourite scarf and tried to wear it. You were chasing her in the house and garden, until Noelle tripped and fell, the scarf being way too long for her. The next day, I took her to the clothing store, to buy her a similar scarf, but smaller…"  
"FRISK..." - Papyrus breathed out.  
"She was… She was so happy… When we returned home, she… she showed it to you… looking so proud to have… a red scarf too…" - Frisk retold the memory with a trembling voice - "And you… took Noelle in your arms, looking happy too… and called her the Great Papyrus' girl… And I couldn't help but just smile while looking at you… It's funny how such small things now look so… important to me…"  
Without saying a word, Papyrus just pulled his wife close to him in a tight embrace. Frisk clung tightly into him, burrying her face in his orange turtleneck, and let out a quiet whimper. It sounded like a last attempt to fight back her tears. Papyrus rubbed her back soothingly and rested his cheek against the top of Frisk's head. He then said in a half-whisper:  
"IT'S OKAY... YOU'RE ALLOWED TO CRY… I'M HERE, DON'T KEEP ANYTHING IN."  
His words had its effect like some magic. As soon as he said those words, Frisk started to sob uncontrollably and tears started to fall by dozens. As the human cried, more and more tears came, and it seemed that these were endless. Papyrus kept holding her close, one hand still rubbing her back, while the other burrying itself in Frisk's soft brown hair. Hearing the cries of his beloved human made his own eyes get filled with tears. After all, the heartache was common to the both spouses. They both suffered from the loss of their daughter many years ago.  
"I'm just so __sad__, Papyrus… It hurts so much…" - Frisk started to say between her sobs - "I'm happy we got Noelle back, but… but we missed so many things… We didn't… accompany her on her first schoolday… and didn't see her graduate… We missed twenty-two birthdays and winter holidays… We never got to go on a summer trip together… We never got to talk about her crushes… and many other things…"  
It soon became more difficult for her to talk, so mostly broken cries and sobs came out after that point. Papyrus tightened his embrace, encouraging Frisk to let free all her grief and tears.  
"LET YOUR TEARS FALL, FRISK." - he said sofly - "I KNOW YOUR PAIN, CRYING IS NORMAL. LET IT ALL OUT."  
And so Frisk kept crying, saying no more. The spouses weren't sure for how long they've been sitting like this, but eventually Frisk's crying quietened and then ceased. She was just sniffing when she pulled away and tried to wipe the tearstains away. But Papyrus then gently lowered her wrists and took care to wipe the tears himself.  
"Your gloves must be all wet now…" - Frisk commented, her voice a bit hoarse.  
"IT DOESN'T MATTER. I'M OKAY NOT WEARING THEM AROUND YOU ANYWAY." - Papyrus replied with a faint smile, then his face grew concerned again - "I WAS WONDERING WHEN YOU'D CRACK."  
Frisk didn't reply anything to this, just turning her gaze away from him. But her husband, after removing his gloves, gently lifted her chin with his bony hand to make her look at him.  
"I COULD SEE AND FEEL YOUR SADNESS, AND YET YOU BARELY TALKED ABOUT IT. IT'S UNHEALTHY TO BOTTLE UP YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE THAT."  
"I didn't say anything because I know you're grieving about it too…"  
"YOU MUSN'T TRY TO BE STRONG FOR THE TWO OF US." - Papyrus said, shaking his head - "YOU'RE MY WIFE, SO WE'RE SUPPOSED TO SHARE OUR JOYS AND SADNESS. PLEASE DON'T EVER FEEL EMBARRASSED TO CRY AROUND ME."  
Frisk nodded faintly. She wasn't exactly embarrassed, but she felt like it wouldn't be right to burden Papyrus with her own grief, considering all the bad things he went through himself in the past as a test subject. But her husband had a point, and had told many times before to not overload her mind with thoughts about his past. Papyrus always had a very strong empathy, so it would make sense that he'd put Frisk's needs before his own. Yet, the young woman thought she should at least address __his__ feelings as well.  
"But what about you, Papyrus?" - she asked - "I've seen you shed tears too before."  
"I DID... SOMETIMES, I FEEL THE SAME AS YOU DO NOW. BUT LUCKILY FATE BROUGHT NOELLE BACK TO US. WE COULD'VE LOST EACH OTHER FOREVER, BUT SHE RETURNED. SO I DO MY BEST TO ENJOY THE MOMENTS WE CAN SHARE TOGETHER."  
Papyrus had glanced for a moment at the handplate drilled into his right hand. After a long time spent in the lab, having nothing but his brother Sans and hope to light up his life, he was just too grateful that he could know a normal life with a wife and child of his own. And the trials of life couldn't stop him from fully enjoying all the good moments. Papyrus was just the kind of guy to focus more on the happy things than the sad ones. Of course, that didn't mean that he was fine about missing Noelle's childhood and teenage years. He too often felt blue about it, and it was true that he would shed some tears sometimes. But Frisk's feelings mattered everything to him, more than his own.  
"YOUR FEELINGS ARE NORMAL, FRISK." - he pursued - "DON'T CONCEAL THEM, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU'RE AROUND ME."  
His wife nodded after a moment and a shadow of a smile briefly appeared on her face. Papyrus then stood up and offered Frisk his hand to help her stand on her feet too. Wrapping his arm around her, the skeleton said:  
"NOELLE SHOULDN'T SEE US SAD WHEN SHE COMES BACK HOME… HOW ABOUT WE MAKE DINNER TOGETHER? THERE'S THAT RECIPE I FOUND THAT I WANTED TO SHOW YOU."  
Cooking together would always make the two spouses happy and lift their spirits, no matter how down one of them felt. When the two descended the stairs and were at the second floor, Frisk said her husband's name quietly.  
"Papyrus?"  
"WHAT IS IT, FRISK?" - he asked back.  
Frisk stood on her toes and pressed a light kiss on Papyrus' teeth. It was a kiss of gratitude and that seeked some comfort. Looking into the skeleton's eyes, Frisk said:  
"Thank you… for being there for me."  
"I'LL ALWAYS BE. JUST REMEMBER THAT YOU CAN CRY WHENEVER YOU FEEL LIKE IT. NO MATTER THE REASON OR THE TIME OF THE DAY. WHEN YOUR TEARS THREAT TO FALL, COME TO ME AND I'LL HELP YOU FEEL BETTER. YOUR SADNESS IS NEVER A BURDEN TO ME."  
Papyrus then affectioningly pressed his teeth to Frisk's temple. One single tear then slid down the human's cheek, this time however it was a happy one.

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**A/N: Sorry, it's quite short. **

**I never got the chance to display in my story that Papyrus and Frisk weren't as "okay" as it seemed that their daughter got sent away to our world and lived years apart from them. I mean, it's kinda obvious that they're not okay about it, but we didn't get actual dialogue about it. There was already too much things going on out there, so I didn't want to overweight the story with even more angst. They did think about what-ifs like anyone would, but the couple just learned to move on and enjoy all the good fate was offering to them. Noelle is back with them, and it was what truly mattered. (Especially that they got grandchildren as a bonus!) **


End file.
